SoVote

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Feb/19/22 8:23:04 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I feel that the hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes may, in rewatching his remarks, regret any sense of equivalency between condemning people calling for the killing of our Prime Minister and the decision made by the NDP to vote in favour of the declaration. The hon. member said that the declaration would allow the freezing of bank accounts for people the government does not agree with. I think I have this right. I am not sure how I am going to vote on this. I really want clarity around what the thresholds are for the government interfering in the bank accounts of anyone. I want to see that clarity. I do not think it is right to mislead Canadians into thinking that this law would allow the threshold that, if someone dislikes or disagrees with someone else, their bank accounts would be frozen. Would the member like to clarify this?

159 words

All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 34 - Feb/19/22

Ms. Elizabeth May

Feb/19/22 9:40:49 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, on a point or order. I am sure it was an oversight, but as this is unanimous consent, every member of the House should have been consulted. I was not, but I wish to give consent.

38 words

Context: House Hansard - 34 - Feb/19/22

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Feb/19/22 11:34:54 a.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Joliette for his speech. I have a question for him, and I hope I will be able to express myself clearly. I do not think the definition of what constitutes a threat to the security of Canada can be found in the Emergencies Act. Rather, it is found in the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, which refers specifically to foreign influenced activities. I find this deeply disturbing because I think that the misinformation about COVID‑19 and the vaccines, as well as the bizarre ideas that some protesters have are coming from two sources. Some come from Republicans in the United States but mostly they come from from Russia and Mr. Putin, who are spreading misinformation on sites like russiatoday.com. This site is accessible in Canada, which I find very surprising, since it spreads misinformation for the purpose of destroying democratic societies around the world. We need to make a decision about the Emergencies Act, but beyond that, we must take action against sources of misinformation. I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.

187 words

All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 34 - Feb/19/22

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Feb/19/22 12:06:14 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by agreeing with my colleague from Prince George. It is always nice to find common ground. I was one of only three members of Parliament on the opposition benches who voted with his party, condemning the use of the specific phrase he mentioned in the summer grants program. I remember clearly that vote. I felt that it was a misuse of a grant program by appropriating into language that was elevated to charter language something that could be seen on either side as within the scope of the charter. I am still undecided as to how to vote on this motion. I am looking to my friend, because he is my friend. I do wish that we could have ideas on how to lower the temperature in this place so that we do not descend into hurling insults across the way. Canadians do not want to see that.

155 words

All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 34 - Feb/19/22

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Feb/19/22 1:53:52 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, in the course of this debate, I have heard a few people mention that the measure we are debating is one that we would use in wartime. I just want to put on the record for Canadians who might be watching that the Emergencies Act is a remarkably well-crafted piece of legislation. I am not sure I am going to vote for this declaration, but it impresses me that in the 1980s, a group of MPs could think about different emergencies: public welfare emergencies, like a public health emergency, a pandemic; public order emergencies, like the one we are asked about now; international emergencies; and lastly, a war. This is not what we would use in case of a war.

123 words

All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 34 - Feb/19/22

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Feb/19/22 3:23:19 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more with my hon. friend from Dartmouth—Cole Harbour about the interventions from the member for Nunavut. I am still deciding how I am going to vote, but I want to ask the hon. member how much, in addition to the economic threats, using the Emergencies Act is motivated by recognizing that this is not a single threat but a vast network that seeks to undermine democracies. The member's last word in his speech was “democracy”, and as informed by Vladimir Putin and forces of the right in the U.S., we are suffering from a foreign-influenced effort to undermine our democracy.

113 words

All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 34 - Feb/19/22

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Feb/19/22 6:09:35 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I was impressed that my colleague for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill followed the line of the legislation from the Emergencies Act over to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act for the definition of “threat to the security of Canada”. In these debates, we have not identified what it is that required the public order emergency, if it was required. I am very drawn to the fact that what we are looking at here is foreign influence that is affecting Canadian democracy in a negative way. Under “threats to the security of Canada”, subsection (b) states these are: foreign influenced activities within or relating to Canada that are detrimental to the interests of Canada and are clandestine or deceptive or involve a threat to any person. It specifically does not include normal legal protest. I would ask the member to expand on that. Are we actually bringing in a public order emergency because of the specific protest in Ottawa, or are we wanting to look at a network that is across Canada, and even global, that chooses to rely on disinformation and fearmongering to create divisions and undermine democracy?

197 words

All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 34 - Feb/19/22

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Feb/19/22 6:26:06 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, a lot of laws could have been used but were not used. We ended up with an occupation that went on for three weeks. What laws could have been invoked to get tow truck drivers to pull trucks away when they were refusing?

45 words

All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 34 - Feb/19/22

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Feb/19/22 11:09:21 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I noted that my hon. friend from Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook talked about foreign interference as though we were just talking about the flow of money in donations to the so-called “freedom convoy”. I wonder if he has turned his attention to foreign interference in the form of disinformation, largely emanating from Russian websites, social media activity, as well as that emanating from the U.S. Republican Party.

74 words

All Topics